Turkey's fresh fruit and vegetable exports, the case of Manisa Alaşehir

Due to the fact that the climate and soil structure of Turkey are suitable for agriculture, various fruits and vegetables are grown. Agriculture is an important and effective sector for the Turkish economy. Due to the general structure of this sector, export-based methods are preferred from sunday entry strategies. In order for the economic contribution to be significant, the export of the manufactured product must also be increased. In the study, the analysis was performed by dividing into two parts. Secondary data were used in the first part. The production and commercial structure of fresh grape, cherry in the world are generally discussed. The contribution of Manisa province and Alaşehir district in grape and cherry production of Turkey is explained with the help of tables. A ten-year period covering the years 2012-2021 has been selected for the tables. Manisa has created a brand all over the world with the Sultaniye grape variety. Alaşehir contributes to the formation of this brand with its grape production. Grape constitute the economic livelihood of the district. In the second part, a questionnaire consisting of twenty-nine questions consisting of four parts was used. A survey study was conducted with companies engaged in grape and cherry exports in Alaşehir district of Manisa province. The survey consists of the general structure of the companies, the problems and difficulties they face in exports, the countries they work the most, the preferred grape and cherry varieties, as well as decisive questions. Descriptive statistical methods (number, percentage) were used in the evaluation of the data obtained from the survey. The relationship between the variables was analyzed by Chi-square analysis. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Windows 25.0 program was used for calculations. In the study, it was aimed to determine whether the quality certificates that the company has and the unfair competitive environment are related to the period during which it exports.